SUMMARY
Cursor (IDE) uses mdc configuration while Firebase Studio (Platform) uses text. They differ on 7 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.
FEATURE COMPARISON
| Feature | Cursor | Firebase Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Config format | mdc | text |
| Hierarchy support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Global config | ✓ | ✗ |
| Project config | ✓ | ✓ |
| Subdirectory scoping | ✓ | ✗ |
| File inclusion / imports | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ignore file | .cursorignore | ✗ |
| IDE integration | ✓ | Platform |
| Schema / structure | Hybrid (MDC frontmatter + Markdown) | unknown |
| Git committed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Encoding | UTF-8 | UTF-8 |
KEY DIFFERENCES
Cursor: mdc. Firebase Studio: text.
Cursor: Supported. Firebase Studio: Not supported.
Cursor: Supported. Firebase Studio: Not supported.
Cursor: Supported. Firebase Studio: Not supported.
Cursor: .cursorignore. Firebase Studio: Not supported.
Cursor: Supported. Firebase Studio: Platform.
Cursor: Hybrid (MDC frontmatter + Markdown). Firebase Studio: unknown.
WHICH SHOULD I USE?
Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Cursor, configure .cursorrules. If you use Firebase Studio, configure .idx/dev.nix. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.
PORTABILITY TIP
# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md